Filmmaker Wu Wenguang and his students are collecting peasants' stories from the late 1950s and early '60s. Through film and stage performances, these young people are reclaiming history, in a time of historical amnesia. Part 2 of 2.

Monday November 12, 2012, 12:20 am
Wu draws parallels between Mao's headlong rush to catch up with the West and the current rush to modernize. As an example, he cites the fatal crash of a brand new high-speed rail train last year, which authorities handled by initially attempting to bury the wrecked train carriages.

"We don't have the ability to build [high-speed rail]," he explains. "But we did so for the sake of our image, and then there was an accident. That was covered up. This is the new era of the Great Leap Forward."